The field of the invention is generally related to a multi-purpose portable table and hand truck or dolly of the type used for displaying and transporting items.
Multi-purpose portable tables are often utilized for both indoor and outdoor activities to provide support for displaying items or a work/play space for a wide variety of activities. However, the term “portable table” is often relative because many such tables though movable and transportable are, in fact, very difficult to transport. In addition, even when the portable table is amenable to being transported, the user often must make several trips from their original location to their destination in order to separately and individually transport items that are to be located on the workspace of the table. In order to overcome these shortcomings, background art portable tables have often been enhanced by being equipped with wheels and base plates that facilitate transporting the portable table and moving items to be used in the workspace of the table. However, further enhancements of portable tables could provide an even more user friendly portable table apparatus.
Some examples of background art in this field of invention include U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,565,382 and 4,934,718. The 382' patent is a combined portable table top 11 and hand truck 10 with an open-sided load supporting rack 28 for transporting items and with retaining means 32 for controlling the items being transported. The 718' patent is a multi-purpose hand truck 1 having an open-sided toe plate 7 for transporting items and a table top 10 for a workspace. However, the open-sided nature of the plate for transporting items of the hand trucks of the 718' and 382' patents do not allow the hand trucks of these patents to be effective for carrying small items that can not be easily restrained or that may roll and thus, need to be contained while in transport.
Other examples of the background art in this field of invention include U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,064,989 and 5,161,811. The 989' patent is a wheeled dolly 10 with a foldable supporting frame 6 having an open-sided support member 19 for transporting items when used as a dolly/hand truck. The 811' patent is a trolley/hand truck with a foldable seat 22 instead of a table top and a support frame 13 that, as in the 989' patent, provides an open-side support member for transporting items when used as a hand truck. In addition, both the wheeled dolly of the 989' patent and the trolley/hand truck of the 811' patent provide a minimal amount of supporting surface (i.e., merely the support frame members) behind the items being transported when used as a hand truck. Thus, the 989' and 811' patents have the same shortcomings as the 382' and 718' patents discussed above and additional disadvantages with regard to the limited amount of supporting surface available for use when transporting items.
Yet other examples of the background art in this field of invention include U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,957,472 and 6,371,495. The 472' patent is an apparatus 10 forming a combined hand truck and table top/machine support 16. The combined hand truck and table top of the 472' patent includes an open-sided base plate 34 for transporting items, and thus, the 472' patent has the same shortcomings as the 382', 718' and 811' patents discussed above.
The 495' patent is a table frame 60 with fold out legs 40 and a trolley 30 with a support plate 90. In contrast to the above discussed patents, support plate 90 further includes support blocks 92 which partially enclose the sides of the support plate 90. However, the 495' patent is still not effective for transporting small items that can not be easily restrained or that may roll between the openings in the support blocks.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a combined multi-purpose portable combined table and dolly/hand truck that can be easily set-up; and conveniently move and securely transport items of various shapes, sizes and configurations from one location to another.